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POCKET GUIDE TO 








For use of Military Personnel only. Not to 
be republished, in whole or in part, without 
the consent of the War Department. 


REVISED EDITION 
I APRIL 1944 


Prepared by 

ARMY INFORMATION BRANCH, A. S. F. 
UNITED STATES ARMY 


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POCKET GUIDE TO 






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YOU and your outfit have come to New Caledonia not 
only as friends to help guard the strategic interest of the 
United Nations in a distant and vital corner of the world, 
but, as far as Americans are concerned, virtually as dis¬ 
coverers. 

This island of the Free French has been the home of 
Frenchmen for more than a century, but few Americans 
have been there, and few know anything about it.. This 
guidebook now in your hand is the first guide of any 
kind ever published to inform Americans on New Cale¬ 
donia. Its purpose is to introduce you to the country and 
facilitate your learning more about a people whose love of 
freedom is as great as our own. If you are an alert sol¬ 
dier, the time should come quickly when you know more 


1 


about the country than is to be found in the guidebook. 
That should be your aim. Your efficiency will increase ac¬ 
cording to the accuracy of your information. The more 
you learn of New Caledonia, the better you discharge 
your duty as an American. 

The position of this island is of great importance to the 
security of our country. One glance at the map will tell 
you why. To win the war, we must keep the freedom of 
the seas and continue the movement of our fighting ma¬ 
terials to our allies and to our own forces. New Cale¬ 
donia stands guard over the Pacific lifeline which joins 
our strength with Australia and with the Dutch who still 
give battle to the enemy in some of the islands of the East 
Indies. 

You are fortunate that this island is to be your station 
for the'time being. New Caledonia is the only island in 
the western South Seas which is wholly free of fever. The 
public health problems are minor. If you take care of 
yourself, you will thrive on the island, and will find your¬ 
self among friends. The trail has been well blazed for 
you. The conduct of your fellow soldiers in New Cale¬ 
donia has been good. They have not only adjusted them¬ 
selves easily to their situation but have won the respect 
and admiration of the New Caledonians. 

The New Caledonia natives are your loyal comrades in 
arms. Some of them are wearing the uniform of your 
country, wearing it proudly, and speaking eagerly of 
themselves as American forces. For approximately two 

2 


years New Caledonia natives gave excellent and loyal 
service to the American troops as guides. Though they no 
longer serve in this capacity, many still work with the 
American forces as service corps troops. The Ameri¬ 
can troops in New Caledonia wear khaki. The New 
Caledonia natives (and this term will be used throughout 
the guide to designate the original inhabitants) who are 
serving with us ask for a modified O. D. uniform because 
they do not like the feel of cotton. With the forming of 
forces for the Coral Sea battle the whole issue in the 
Southwest Pacific became clouded by doubt, and they 
flocked to our colors by the. scores because they were 
ready to fight. Some of these dark-skinned men are war¬ 
riors who have won decorations on the battlefields of 
France during the First World War. Mutual respect be¬ 
tween you will develop naturally. 

New Caledonians, both French and native, have .been 
actively engaged in the war since its outbreak in 1939, 
mobilizing troops both for overseas duty and home de¬ 
fense. After the Fall of France, New Caledonians rallied 
to de Gaulle and continued the fight. Despite the small¬ 
ness of the population, sizeable contingents, all of whom 
are volunteers, have gone overseas. The Caledonian vol¬ 
unteers of the Bataillon du Pacifique distinguished them 
selves in the Libyan, Tunisian and Italian Campaigns, 
particularly at Bir Hakeim. The local French forces wel¬ 
comed the arrival of American troops and cooperated 
with them whole-heartedly in the defense of New Cale¬ 
donia. 


3 





NEW 

CALEDONIA 


KILOMETERS 


Kone 


BourOi 


LIFOU 


MARE 


Koumoc 






Three flags now fly over New Caledonia—the tricolor 
of the old French Republic, the Lorraine Cross, symbol of 
the Fighting French, and the Stars and Stripes, which 
will continue to command the esteem of the New Cale¬ 
donians as your personal attitude and behavior merit it. 

New Caledonia has been a French colony since 1853. 
When the French Republic collapsed in 1940 the Gov¬ 
ernor of the colony wanted to string along with Vichy. 
But the people drove him out of the colony and set up a 
government to work with General de Gaulle. 

Just Suppose. Let us suppose for a minute that New 
Caledonia had taken the opposite course, and played the 
pliable Vichy game the way French Indochina did. You 
remember what happened there. Indochina opened her 
doors to the Japanese (for “protection”) and right away 
they began to build airports and establish garrisons. That 
surrender destroyed the balance of military power in the. 
Pacific and led to defeat in Malaya, the Philippines, and 
the Dutch East Indies. 

If the same thing had happened in New Caledonia, the 
results would have been as bad or worse for us. For this 
• cigar-shaped island lies only 750 miles across the Coral 
Sea from Australia. Given possession of this key spot, 
the Japanese might have been able to knock out Australia 
before now and certainly would have blocked our present 
route across the Southwest Pacific. The job of running 
the Japanese out of the East Indies, tough as it is now, 
would have been many times as difficult. 


5 


Mineral Treasure-House. There’s another mighty impor¬ 
tant reason why New Caledonia must be held. For its 
size—acre for acre, mile for mile—it has the richest min¬ 
eral resources of any country in the world—nickel, chro¬ 
mite, cobalt, and iron. Those are magic words in this 
man’s war. If Japan could get her hands on those min¬ 
erals, some of her supply worries would be eased. If we 
should lose them—it might mean shortages for some of 
our most vital war industries back home. Many an Amer¬ 
ican plane and munitions factory is dependent today on 
nickel and chrome from New Caledonia. 

That’s the chance the initiative of the New Caledonians 
has given us—and the great responsibility. When you get 
to New Caledonia, you will find that your fellow Ameri¬ 
cans have great admiration for what the islanders have 
done in the war. By their courage in the face of danger 
they have already saved us from serious .military defeat 
and have thrown a monkey wrench into the Japs’ ma¬ 
chinery. 

MEET OUR ALLIES 

IT’S a little misleading to speak of our New Caledonian 
allies as one people. Really they are several peoples to¬ 
gether—though you will find they are equally friendly, 
equally strong for our side and against the Japanese and 


6 


Hitler. Likewise, they are 
strong for one another. 

New Caledonia is remark¬ 
ably free from race prej¬ 
udices. The Caledonians 
don’t ask what a man looks 
like. They ask: “What can 
he do?” It is a good ques¬ 
tion. 

We and the New Cale¬ 
donians have a common 
cause. We are fighting to¬ 
gether against the so-called 
“new order” of Hitler and 
Hirohito in all its brutal 
forms. BUT, there are a 
lot of small differences between us. With your consistent 
help these items can be minimized and the solidification 
of our Pacific front can be continued. 

You will want to know what kind of people you are 
going to meet. New Caledonia is a very thinly populated 
country. For example, although the colony is a little 
larger than New Jersey in square miles, it has only 
61,000 people—an American football stadium would hold 
them all—as compared with New Jersey’s 4,000,000. 



7 


By American standards, the island cannot be called fer-' 
tile. One-third or more of the total area is too rugged or 
barren to be of any economic use. Back of the beach the 
flat lands are apt to be swampy. Thousands of acres in the 
river valleys, however, are suited to agriculture. 

The French. There are four major groups of people mak¬ 
ing up New Caledonia’s population. The largest group 
are the Europeans—meaning mostly French—who are 
about a third of the total population. This is the largest 
white population of any single South Pacific island. 
Here are a few things you should know about them. 

First, they are not “colonists,” in the accepted sense of 
the word among people of the South Sea islands. Instead, 
the French in New Caledonia consider that the island is 
their home. They .like to be called Caledonians. In this 
respect they are something like the Australians across the 
Coral Sea, Allowing for differences in language, religion, 
and custom, you will find among the French in New 
Caledonia some of the same hearty friendliness and in¬ 
dependence that characterizes the Australians—who, in 
turn, are frequently compared to westerners in America. 

The French you will meet are for the most part farmers, 
shopkeepers, businessmen, and government employees. 
Externally they are much like corresponding people in 


our country. Some have traveled back and forth to France 
quite a bit, the majority feel deeply rooted in New Cale¬ 
donia. They speak French and follow the Roman Catho¬ 
lic faith, in the majority. There is also a small Protestant 
group. 

^>ome metropolitan Frenchmen trom l-'aris may tend to 
look down on the Frenchman from New Caledonia as 
being an isolated “colonial” but the latter is more often a 
more practical and democratic person than the man from 
France. 

The Natives. The second largest group of people in the 
island are the native Kanakas (kah-nah-kas). These arc a 
dark-skinned people of mixed Melanesian and Polyne¬ 
sian origin, whose ancestors were the original New Cale-* 
donians. Graceful and fond of singing, they are a cheer¬ 
ful, happy-go-lucky lot. And yet many of their best men 
volunteered for the Free French forces and are now serv¬ 
ing in far parts of the world. 

It is something of a problem what to call these people. 
French writers have referred to them as indigenes (na¬ 
tives) or Canaques (from the Polynesian word “kanaka” 
meaning “man”). However, they dislike the term Ca- 
naque, and it should not be used. The people have no gen¬ 
eral name for themselves other than that of their district 


9 


or village—“East Coast People,” “Gomo People,” and so 
on. When you are dealing with a mah, however, it is 
quite all right to call him “boy,” as this is a widely used 
term around the islands. The people are accustomed to it. 

The New Caledonia natives compose many small tribes, 
and still retain a strong community loyalty. Up to a few 
years ago most of the tribesmen spoke only their native 
tongue, but today the majority speak a “pidgin” 
form of French. The children go to little church schools 
in the native villages and speak quite good. French. 
Since American troops began to arrive and the men be¬ 
gan to serve with our forces, many of them have picked 
up English phrases. Those who are in our military serv¬ 
ices are accustomed to taking orders in English. 

Some of the Europeans will tell you that the native 
islanders are lazy. Perhaps, but there are two ways of 
looking at it. In New Caledonia the climate is pleasant 
and without any great extremes. Fish, game, and other 
foods are easy to get. The island is sparsely settled, with 
room for all. So when white men wanted to hire the New 
Caledonia natives for hard labor in the mines, they re¬ 
plied they were getting along all right the way they were 
and didn’t want hard labor. Nevertheless, if you can get 
their interest, or show them that it is to their own advan¬ 
tage to work or fight you will find them willing and 


10 


strong. That is the way we have found them. They are 
doing much hard work for us. 

Most of the New Caledonia natives today are coming 
to some form of European dress. There is one unusual 
sight you will see—about half of them have reddish or 
orange-colored hair. This is not a freak of nature but is 
caused by rubbing lime, once used to kill parasites, into 
the roots of the hair. The custom is still followed as a 
means of tribal adornment. 

Today nearly every baby is baptized into the Christian 
faith, and nature worship and spirit worship are dying 
out. But some of the old beliefs still persist. One belief is 
that every person is inhabited by a spirit,' or f{o, which 
goes travelling while the human body is asleep. If a man 
should be awakened suddenly—so the belief is—the J{0 
might not have time to get back into its body and would 
get even by going around causing trouble. So the people 
believe a man should be allowed to sleep until he 
wakes up of his own accord. It is a point of view with 
which any man who has to stand reveille can have full 
sympathy. In any event, be careful about waking natives. 

Javanese and Tonkinese. Because the native New Caledo¬ 
nians could not be interested in working in the mines, the 
mine owners imported labor from other parts of the Pa¬ 


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V 



ciflc, from more crowded lands where it was difficult to 
make a living. About 12,000 of these laborers are in the 
island according to latest a\ailable figures. They are usu¬ 
ally imported on 5-year contracts. Some of the laborers 
renew their contracts and eventually become permanent 
residents of the country. About two-thirds of the laborers 
are Javanese, from Java, and one-third Tonkinese, from 
French Indochina. 

Some Javanese women work in the mines along with 
the men, but most of them do not like it and prefer do¬ 
mestic service. Almost every white family in the island 
has a Javanese servant. You can usually recognize the 
Javanese women by their gaily colored sarongs—not quite 
like Dorothy Lamour’s, but more like a skirt, with a 
blouse covering the upper part of the body. Most Java- 

12 



nese are Moslems. In New Caledonia there is a small 
Catholic group among the Javanese. At home they have 
been brought up to be highly disciplined, very polite, and 
respectful of authority. The French regard the Javanese 
as intelligent workers, but trigger-tempered. 

The Tonkinese are from the Tonkin region of Indo¬ 
china, and are similar to the Chinese in appearance and 
customs. They also are regarded as reliable workers, and 
many of them are fine artisans in metal and wood. In 
religion, ^he Tonkinese may be Confucian, Taoist, or 
Buddhist, since all three religions are followed in their 
homeland. 

Japanese. The fourth major group in New Caledonia, 
until Pearl Harbor, were the Japanese. There were about 
r,Too on the island. The day after Pearl Harbor, General 

13 


de Gaulle declared war on Japan and the Japanese were 
taken under government control for their own safety. 
All of them have been evacuated to Australia. 

In addition to these four main groups of peoples there 
are also scatterings of other Europeans and Australians, 
and the “half-castes.” These are the offspring of whftes 
and native New Caledonians. It is-not unusual here, as in 
other parts of the world, to find marriages between 
Europeans and the aborigines. Some of the half-castes 
mingle socially with the French. 

GETTING ALONG IN NEW CALEDONIA 

The best way to get along in New Caledonia is to be 
friendly, courteous and considerate. You will find many 
local customs different from the ones you are used to in 
the United States. Yet their customs are just as natural and 
sensible to New Caledonians as ours are to us. Remember 
that most of the differences are not just queer, foreign 
ways of doing things but common-sense adaptations to a 
different climate and environment. Thus don’t criticize 
your Allied friends and hosts. You are not in New Cale¬ 
donia to change the people or their ways. Instead win 
their friendship by showing courteous understanding, 
just as you expect visitors to do in your borne. Simply 
continue observing the ordinary rules of politeness and 


14 


respect for the privacy of others'. Ask permission before 
entering some one’s property or home. Don’t remove any¬ 
thing, like sand, gravel or trees, without asking the 
owner. Take particular care to conduct yourself quietly 
in public places; New Caledonians dislike noisy public 
scenes just as much as Americans do. Never uninten¬ 
tionally offend passers-by through thoughtless remarks or 
comments; many New Caledonians understand English. 
Try to learn a little French; your effort will please your 
hosts and help yoii make friends. A safe and easy guide 
is simply to show at all times that same respect for others 
that you did back home. In this way, you will make your 
stay here much more pleasant. A thoughtless slip on your 
part can giv^ a bad name to your family, your fellow sol¬ 
diers and your country. By showing everyone that you 
are a decent American soldier, you can help to win the 
war and the solid friendship and lasting peace we all 
want. 

Customs Are Important. Manners and customs are the first 
thing to learn when you are in a strange country. Fortu¬ 
nately, New Caledonia is comparatively free from reli¬ 
gious taboos which make it difficult for the visitor to get 
along in many countries. But there are a few things you 
will want to know. For example, the siesta hour is ob¬ 
served rigidly throughout New Caledonia and all shops 
and offices are closed tight for a few hours at midday. 


15 


This practice is not a sign of laziness but a common-sense 
adaptation to a tropical climate. 

The French set great value on being polite. A smile and 
a salute or a friendly courtesy will go a long way in New 
Caledonia as elsewhere. 

Most of the French in the island are devout and quite 
conservative in their personal lives. They are family peo¬ 
ple and you will find that they have a rather strict moral 
code. In most families it would not be considered proper 
for a girl to go out on a date unless accompanied by her 
parents or a chaperone. Our troops understand these cus¬ 
toms and respect them. They are not molesters of women. 

In dealing with the native New Caledonians, the Java¬ 
nese, and Tonkinese, it is well to be a little on your dig¬ 
nity. .Be friendly but a little restrained. 

Most of the natives are devout Catholics, and the priest, 
who is addressed as MON pere (MAW pehr), is a very 
important man. You will find missions in the most re¬ 
mote districts. There are also many nuns who teach the 
native children and hold them to a strict moral code. In 
general, the more isolated the native village, the strictei 
you will find the people, though as said before, they arc 
likely to cling to their native beliefs. They are afraid of 
the dark and keep fires and light burning at night to 
keep the devil away. If these beliefs seem funny to you, 
reflect on whether you have known an American or two 
tvho was afraid to go home in the dark. 


16 


Among the Javanese and Tonkinese you will find all 
sorts of religious customs, festivals and observances. The 
important hing is never to laugh or interfere. Learning 
about these things is a part of your new life. As a student 
of New Caledonia, you will of course approach the land 
and its people with respect, as your comrades already 
there have done. 

Since the arrival of American troops, quite an exten¬ 
sive trade in souvenirs has developed. These include 
articles from other Pacific islands as well as Native New 
Caledonian curios in wood, shell, seed, fibre, and leather. 
Almost every shop in Noumea stocks souvenirs of some 
sort, and the trade is likewise qarried on extensively in 
the bush. Prices are often excessively high, far above pre¬ 
war levels, and natives as well as French know the value 
of a dollar. 

In normal times the French in New Caledonia live a 
great deal as we do at home. These are not normal times. 
The stores in Noumea and the other cities are running on 
the ragged edge because of a lack of imports. Such prod¬ 
ucts as they have are needed by the native population. 
It isn’t honest poker for an American soldier to compete 
with them when most of his needs can be supplied at the 
army canteen. 

Liquors of all kinds are scarce. As in peacetimes, the 
native population was accustomed to the traditional 
French wines, the scarcity is a greater hardship on them 
than on the American soldier. A little beer is imported 


17 


from Australia. Such wine as is to be found is now im¬ 
ported from California and Australia, and it is strictly ra¬ 
tioned. Various bars in Noumea cater to American per¬ 
sonnel^ and beer is obtainable in American camps. Of soft 
drinks, there are a few: citron, an orange syrup cut with 
water, lemon pop and banana pop. Ice is hard to get, 
there being only two small plants on the island, with a 
plentiful demand for their product. 

Nearly all the native New Caledonians live in vil-’ 
lages, called tribu (tree-boo). They are generally found 
in the river valleys, but some are deep in the mountains. 
The old-style native hut—now rare—is a cone-shaped 
thatch-roofed affair looking something like a tall beehive. 
The more common dwelling today, encouraged by the 
government for reasons of public health, is a rectangular 
cottage with tin, bark, or thatch roof. The walls are made 
of wattle and mud, usually painted in bright-colors. Woven 
mats are used as bedding, and the cooking fire is an open 
hearth on the earth floor. Generally, the villages are tidy 
and surrounded by flowers. In the hills you will still see 
the native costume—now also partly Europeanized— 
which consists, for men, of a shirt and a cotton waisL- 
cloth, often brightly colored, called a manou (man-oo). 
The women wear mostly the “Mother Hubbard,” intro¬ 
duced into the South Seas by the missionaries. It is a 
loose cotton dress falling below the knee with elbow 
length sleeves. The people are fond of bright decorations 


18 





and colors and when they are in a festive mood they put 
on wreaths of flowers and leaves, strings of heads, copper 
wire, tin bottle tops, or anything else that appeals to them. 
They decorate their ankles, knees,^ wrists, and arms as 
well as their necks and waists. 

Around the mines and plantations you will find the 
laborers—the Javanese and Tonkinese. Dormitories are 
provided, but many of the laborers prefer to build their 
>own little huts of bark and lumber. There are plenty of 
children. Outside of work hours, these people keep to 
themselves and carry on their own ways ot living much 
the same as in their home countries. 

Eating and Drinking. I’he French have somewhat different 
customs of eating than our own. In the morning they 


19 




have a petit dejeuner (puh-TEE day-zhuh-NAY), or “little 
breakfast,” usually consisting of coffee and a roll. Then 
comes dejeuner (day-zhuh-NAY), an early lunch. And 
finally diner (DEE-NAY), the main meal. French meals 
are usually served in courses, similar to the customs fol¬ 
lowed at formal meals or in restaurants in the United 
States. They drink a great deal of coffee (some is grown 
on the island).and use rum and light wines in modera¬ 
tion. Despite the shortage of liquor, the New Caledonians ' 
retain their rigid ideas about the use of' it. It is a social 
sin to get drunk, and it is a jail offense to give liquor to 
a native. 

On the whole, the food eaten by the French is not 
greatly different from ours. One of the rarities of the 
island fare is sauteed rausette—flying fox—which tastes 
like chicken giblets. The native New Caledonians live 
largely on native products of the country. The Tonkinese 
and Javanese, however, follow their own customs of cook¬ 
ing and eating. Rice is their staple food, garnished with 
fish and vegetable sauces. Though beef cattle are plenti¬ 
ful and thousands of head live in a wild state in the in¬ 
terior of the island, the natives prefer potted meats. Some 
mutton is imported from Australia. 

The war has impoverished the island in some ways. 
The people are wearing shabbier clothing. As their men 
may be away at war, there is a likelihood that the table 


20 


fare will be neither as plentiful nor as varied as in normal 
times. New Caledonians are normally hospitable, and 
willing to share what they have with strangers. Now, 
they can’t afford it. Your way of expressing your sympa¬ 
thetic understanding of their situation is to refrain from 
boasting about the abundance and quality of your own 
chow. 

In a sparsely inhabited land such as Caledonia you are 
not going to find many bright lights. But there are 
movies. Noumea has three picture houses which are co¬ 
operating with Army Motion Picture Service so that now 
they are showing the latest Hollywood productions at 
about the same time they are making their first appear¬ 
ance on Broadway. Your Army is getting these produc¬ 
tions to New Caledonia as fast as possible. But unfortu¬ 
nately the capacities of the Noumea theaters are too small 
to meet the demand adequately. Many American camps, 
however, have regular movie schedules in their own 
open-air theatres. 

War has interfered with horse racing which used to be 
a popular sport in the island. Baseball is being introduced, 
limited only by the lack of adequate flat spaces elsewhere 
than near the beaches. The New Caledonians are begin¬ 
ning to take to our national pastiming but there is no 
native phrase for “kill the umpire.” 

There are numerous bathing beaches, and the water 


21 


teels fine. The best one is Anse Vata near Noumea be¬ 
cause it is protected and generally shark-free. At the 
other beaches, the man-eaters are a hazard to swimmers. 

But the best sports are hunting and fishing, and 
American soldiers doing duty in New Caledonia are 
finding it a game paradise. Deer are so plentiful that 
they are regarded as a pest, and may be found grazing 
with the cattle. In one year, more than 120,000 hides were 
exported from the island. Soldiers stationed in certain 
sections in the bush may have occasional opportunities for 
hunting. Stray cattle (herds are frequently permitted to 
roam wild, being rounded up only at certain times of the 
year) and hogs should not be mistaken as game or un¬ 
owned animals. Hunting on their property is prohibited 
by many landowners, and it is wiser, as in the United 
States, to make sure land is not posted before hunting 
on it. There is no closed season on deer, or on wild 
pigeons, which are plentiful, or on wild duck, which are 
slightly less so. Some of our troops have traversed the 
island in casual parties, and explored nearly every corner 
of the hinterland. It is worth the doing because the scene 
is one of rugged grandeur. The tiiountains are bold, rather 
barren and precipitous. The passes through them—there 
being three main routes from one side of the island to the 
other—follow the courses of the mountain streams. The 
mountain highways are suitable for trucks, and the hik- 


22 


ing may be either relatively easy or extremely difficult, as 
one chooses. The interior is considered perfectly safe for 
our forces. 

Troops stationed in certain sections of the bush may 
have an opportunity to enjoy the seafood abounding in 
New Caledonia’s waters. War-time dislocations, refrigera¬ 
tion and transportation difficulties, however, make pro¬ 
curement a problem. There'are no better oysters , in the 
world. They cling to the roots of the mangfove in the 
lidal rivers, and a hungry soldier comes along, pulls the 
root up, and eats several dozen on the half shell. Clams 
are plentiful in the rocks of the small islands in the 
numerous bays and harbors, and motor launch parties 
may eat their fill on the spot, or take a supply back to 
the camp for chowder. Said an American army captain: 
“There is no better fishing anywhere than along the 
coast of New Caledonia.” The most succulent specimen 
is a fish not unlike our own red snapper which the 
French call loche saumone, and another popular variety 
is akin to the sea bass found along our own coast. In 
September some of the large fish become contaminated 
by the coral and if eaten will produce a bad skin irrita¬ 
tion. The native fishermen will help you identify them. 

One sport the New Caledonians enjoy is luring the 
large spiney lobsters with dead squid. These lobsters 


23 





abound in caves under the coral reefs. At low tide the 
fishermen go to the reefs in bathing trunks, with shoes 
to protect their feet from the sharp coral, goggles, and 
gloves to protect their hands from the lobsters. The bait 
is a dead squid on a pole. The squid is dangled in front 
of the cave. When the lobsters see the squid they lose 
all power to move. Another fisherman goes into the pool, 
with goggles and gloves, and catches them by hand. 
Smaller shovel-nosed lobsters, confronted with the squid, 
throw themselves out of the water onto the reefs, where 
they can be picked up by hand. Both varieties of lobster, 
are very good eating. 

One last word on wildlife: If you see a small bird 
hopping along the countryside but never taking off, give 
him a tew kind words. The cagou, called the national 
bird of New Caledonia, can’t fly and is therefore becom¬ 
ing extinct in an era which has little tolerance for forces 
which won’t take to wings. All might still be Well with 
the cagou if he had studied the lessons of this military age. 

News and Reading. There are plenty of radio sets on the 
island, and reception is unusually good of short-wave 
broadcasts from Australia and California. The local 
Army Expeditionary Station broadcasts almost continuous 
daily programs for the entertainment of the troops. 
Noumea has two small newspapers. Since the fall of 
France, however, the people have been short of reading 


24 


material in their native language. They are likely to wel¬ 
come any reading matter, even in English, that you can 
pass on to them. Your Army magazine, “YANK,” being 
an illustrated weekly, will he especially appreciated by 
them. 

Language. In addition to the official French—that of 
European France—a simplified form of pidgin French 
is used by some groups. This is a’ short-cut language. 
If the natives can pick it up, you can. A helpful list of 
words and phrases in regular French will be found at the 
end of this guide. You will also hear a little pidgin Eng¬ 
lish, such as is used in the Pacific islands further northwest. 
This will be even easier to pick up. 




<<THE FRENCH AUSTRALIA'* 


TRAVELERS who have visited New Caledonia usually 
say that it is more like Australia in climate and living 
conditions than it is like the South Sea Islands as we 
usually think of them. Other visitors have likened it to 
southern California. The vegetation is in some respects 
comparable. Three kinds of local trees will catch your 
eye. The low niaouli (nee-ow-lee), also called the paper 
bark, is related to the Australian eucalyptus and yields a 
medicinal essence. The kauri (cow-ree) is in demand for 
lumber and the slender Captain Cook pine, which grows 
nowhere else in the world, is something like our tama¬ 
rack. You will realize the climate never really gets cold 
when you see the coconut trees which thickly fringe the 
shores. Their fruit provides a delicious natural drink. 
However, New Caledonia is a subtropical rather than a 
tropical island and you will not encounter the extreme 
heat, humidity, dangerous animals, insect pests, or fevers 
that make life so difficult in the. real tropics. There is, 
however, one native tree, thin-barked and oozing a very 
black gum, which affects the skin like poison ivy. 

New Caledonia is roughly 250 miles long—farther than 
New York to Washington—by about 30 wide, with a 
total area of around 8,000 square miles. It lies 750 miles 


26 


from Australia, 900 from New Zealand, 6,500 from Cali¬ 
fornia, and 8,000 from the Panama Canal. 

Take a look at the map in the center of this guide. 

Near the southern tip of the island, slightly up the west 
coast, lies the capital and principal port, Noumea, with 
a pre-war population of around 12,000, a little more than 
half of them whites. Noumea has a landlocked harbor, 
one of the finest in the South Seas. It was also a pre-war 
air base of Pan-American Airways (which the New 
Caledonians call “Panair”) on the San Francisco to New 
Zealand run. It also has the island’s principal nickel¬ 
smelting plant. 

Most of the other towns and villages of any size are 
also located on the coasts, and many of them have fine 
though undeveloped harbors. The island is fairly well 
surrounded by a barrier reef of coral, i to 10 miles off 
shore, which gives natural protection against invasion; 
but this reef is broken at places, which means that cer¬ 
tain points on the coast require alert watching. Down the 
center of the island runs the principal mountain range, 
something like our own Teton range, but with magnifi¬ 
cent views of the ocean. Wherever the eye roves in New 
Caledonia, it meets mountain peaks and their slopes come 
right down to the sea. The highest mountains are Mount 
Humbolt near the southern tip and Mount St. Panie on 


27 




) H I N A 



Aucklan( 


TASMANIA 





I80‘ 


LlL 


San Francisco.^ 


Los Angeles 
San Dieg 


MIDWAY 


C 






HAWAIIAN IS. 

JOHNSTON ■ ^ 


' ( 


I HOWLAND 


I ^ 

CANTON|^/<i> 


qPALMYRA 

OCHRISTMAS 



'Equator- 



MARQUESAS 
: ‘ IS. 


SAMOA 

IS. 


COOK IS, 


^LEDONIAI 

L 

I 






65 '^..- 


Aucklond to . .. 


NEW 
ZEALAND 













the northeast coast, each slightly over a mile above sea 
level. In these mountains are found New Caledonia’s 
rich mineral resources. Somebody has called the island a 
solid block of metal. 

One of the odd topographical features of New Cale- 
doma which you will notice are the hillocks of shell 
scattered over many parts of the island adjacent to the 
seashore. Like the “kitchen middens” of Florida, they are 
the accumulation of hundreds of years during which the 
island was used as ^ feasting ground. Bleached human 
bones and skulls can sometimes be found in the debris 
of these hillocks—suggesting a gruesome explanation of 
the feasting. 

Because the prevailing, trade winds are from the east, 
the eastern slope of the mountains receives more rainfall 
than the western. On this slope the forests are particularly 
dense. Tree ferns sometimes grow to a height of 6o feet. 

Climate. The thermometer rarely goes above 90 degrees 
at any time, or below 60. At Noumea the average mean 
temperature in January and February (summer in New 
Caledonia) is 86 degrees. In July and August (winter) 
it is 75 degrees. Normally, Noumea has about 43 inches 
of rainfall a year and 131 rainy or partially rainy days out 
of the 365. Most of the rain falls between February and 
April. From August through October is the dryest time. 


30 


About the only drawbacks to the climate are the tropi¬ 
cal hurricanes, of which there are about three a year, 
usually between December and April. They are usually 
brief, but can do a lot of damage in a short time. Some¬ 
times torrents of water come down the rivers and destroy 
roads and isolate whole communities. Lately New Cale¬ 
donia has had “unusual” weather. For 4 years there has 
been little rain but bivouac commanders must still take 
care not to make camp in dry washes. 

AgricUlturB and Industry. Although parts of New Cale¬ 
donia are very fertile, particularly the river valleys, you 
will find that agriculture is somewhat backward, though 
improvements have been made in recent years. Coffee is 
the principal crop. Coconut products come next. The chief 
domestic animals are the oxen. On the slopes of the 
mountains are large plantations and ranches where cattle 
are raised. 

New Caledonia tried at one time to capture the Orien¬ 
tal market on beef but missed and the cattle industry has 
proved a financial failure. The forests, however, yield 
some wealth. Many fruits, such as lemons and papayas, 
grow wild. There are also banana plantations but not 
more than enough fruit to provide for the local popula¬ 
tion. Some of the New Caledonian natives and French 


31 


too, make their living by hunting deer and selling their 
hides to the Australian market. To save gunpowder and 
cartridges, this hunting is often done by highly trained 
dogs, which run the deer into ponds or into the sea where 
they can be caught and dispatched with a knife. 

Mining and other forms of industry have been greatly 
intensified since the war by the introduction of additional 
machinery. You will see signs of activity on every hand. 
Nickel is mined in huge open pits in much the same way 
that we mine copper in Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. 
New Caledonia produces roughly 4 percent of the world’s 
chrome supply. Chrome is mined underground in the 
region of Tiebaghi Mountain. There is also an inexhaust¬ 
ible amount of chromite in the sands along New Cale¬ 
donia’s beaches, and as fast as the sand is dug out and 
treated, the sea washes more up again. A typical chrome 
plant consists of ordinary tip-trolleys and a grooved steel 
washing table. The beach sand is shoveled into trucks 
and rolled along to the grooved table where the chrome 
is separated from the sand by the simple process of agi¬ 
tating the table under flowing water. The lighter sand is 
floated oft, leaving 55 percent pure chrome on the table. 

New Caledonia has some short lengths of narrow- 
gauge railroad, no longer used, however, for passenger 
traffic. Most transportation today is by the roads. 


32 


History and Govornment. The great English explorer, Cap¬ 
tain Cook, first sighted the island in 1774. Its mountain¬ 
ous appearance reminded him of the Scottish coast, so 
he gave it the name of New Caledonia—Caledonia being 
the Latin word for Scotland. In 1853 the French took 
control and it has been a French colony ever since, to¬ 
gether with such nearby smaller islands as the Loyalty 
group and the Isle of Pines. , * 

Previous to the war its Governor was also the French 
High Commissioner of the Western Pacific, with control 
of all the French island colonies over thousands of miles. 

Before the war, the Governor was assisted by a General 
Council of 13 New Caledonian citizens, as well as by a 
Privy' Council of his own department heads. It was the 
General Council which, in 1940, voted unanimously to 
join the Free French movement, supported by practically 
the whole populace, French and native, and thus join the 
United Nations. 

The present Governor is appointed by General de 
Gaulle, and is assisted by a single council of 12 citizens. 

Noumea has a separate municipal administration to 
carry on its local affairs. The Municipal Council, roughly 
the equivalent of a Board of Aldermen of an American 
city, is elected by popular vote. The Municipal Council¬ 
lors elect the Mayor of Noumea from among their own 


33 


number, then assist and advise him during his term of 
office. 

The other main settlements are governed by elected mu¬ 
nicipal commissions, each under.a prominent local person 
as President, and aided by the necessary Government 
officials, called fonctionnaires, (faw k-si-^-NEHR). 

Each general district outside Noumea is supervised by 
what the French call a gendarme (zhah-DARM), a com¬ 
bined police officer and administrator. The gendarme 
holds a non-commissioned grade in the French army and is 
saluted by soldiers in the local force. He usually makes 
the rounds of his district by motorcycle. All mining com¬ 
panies and plantations, for example, are supposed to pay 
wages to their laborers in the presence of the gendarme, 
to avoid later disputes. He also looks after the affairs of 
the native Caledonians. In Noumea there are special local 
police. These should not be confused with the gendarmes. 
If a native New Caledonian leaves his tribe, gets a new 
job or wishes to move his family, he must first get per¬ 
mission from the gendarme. Result: There is no love lost 
between them. 

Sanitary Conditions. On the whole, you will find New 
Caledonia a healthy place to be, if yoii observe a few 
simple rules. 

New Caledonian mosquitoes are very annoying, so you 
had better take good care of your mosquito net. The 


34 




giant cockroaches may startle you and also th^^iant 
lizards, which grow to be a foot or more long. They 
look fierce but are entirely harmless. There are no land 
snakes. Watch out for large centipedes, their bite, though 
not dangerous, is exceedingly painful. 

Your main dangers are in the sea, and here you do 
have to be somewhat careful. Never fool with a snake 
in the water if you happen on one, as you are likely to 
do near the little islands offshore. The sea moccasin 
which is something like our water moccasin, is the 
familiar danger. There is some argument about whether 
it is deadly, but no smart soldier will treat it like a buddy. 

People living in the tropics or subtropics are likely to be 
exposed to hookworm and other intestinal parasites, and to 
be bothered by dysentery. To 
check this latter ailment, the 
natives eat a certain grass which 
is called “dysentery grass” and is 
supposed to have a herbaceous 
effect. Our troops have made 
not a few noble experiments 
with this particular variety of 
hay, and up to date nobody has 
been hurt, though the record 
is confused as to whether any- 



35 


body^s been helped. So if you see a creature eating grass 
in New Caledonia, don’t shoot! It may be the corporal. 

There are two sources of infection-rdrinking impure 
water and eating uncooked vegetables. The Noumea 
water has been approved by American health authorities. 
Even so, it is wisest to follow the example of local people 
and always use bottled or boiled water, or safer yet, 
drink water only from out of chlorinated lister bags in 
American army camps. The water in the mountain 
streams (this information for the benefit of hikers in 
case, of an emergency) is usually pure. In the northwest 
part of the island the water is said to have a high mineral 
content which is likely to keep a soldier doing a marathon 
to the rear. So drink easy! 

Another small precaution; it is wisest to wear shoes 
when you walk on coral and keep away from it while 
swimming. Cuts from coral can become badly infected. 

Skin infections are common and there is some leprosy. 
Known lepers have been carefully segregated in one sec¬ 
tor of the island: There is a high rate of venereal disease 
with the worst infection among the Javanese women. 
Venereal, diseases were not known in the Pacific islands 
before the coming of the white man although there was 
a mild equivalent called “yaws” which is still prevalent 
among the native peoples. In modern times syphillis and 


36 



gonorrhea have been spreading, especially by way of the 
ports and the laborers’ quarters. Our troops have learned 
not to take chances. 

Throughout New Caledonia toilet facilities are very 
primitive by our standards. This is even true in the town 
of Noumea. No closed-in sewerage system exists any¬ 
where in New Caledonia. Take precautions against pos¬ 
sible infections. 


37 



MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION 

Money. New Caledonia has already shifted to a local cur¬ 
rency system. The local currency has been pegged at 150 
Noumea (paper) francs to the dollar. There is very little 
metal money or token coinage remaining on the island. 
The money units are the franc (FRAH) and the centime 
(one hundredth part of a franc; pronounced “saK- 
TEEM”). There are paper notes of fifty centimes and of 
one, five, twenty, one hundred, and five hundred franc 
denominations. For practical purposes coin values can be 
disregarded as commerce is almost invariably carried on 
in paper francs or dollars. 

You are also likely to come up against Australian 
money in this region. The Australian pound (£A) is 
officially set at three-quarters of the value of,the British 
pound sterling (£). At the latest reckoning, one £A is 
worth somewhat over 3 U. S. dollars. The Australian 
money units are as follows: the pound, which equals 20 
shillings, or about U. S. $3.20; the shilling, which equals 
12 pennies or pence, about U. S. 16 cents; two and six¬ 
pence or halfcrown; the penny, worth about iVs cents. 


The Australians use English-type coins and notes. The 
coins are the half-penny (hayp’nce); penny; threepence 
(thruppence); sixpence; shilling; two shillings, or florin. 
The notes are worth lo shillings, i pound, 5 pounds, 
and 10 pounds. 

Time. The calendar and method of telling time follow 
French customs. The following are the days of the week: 
Monday is lundi; Tuesday, mardi; Wednesday, mercredi; 
Thursday, jeudi; Friday, vendredi; Saturday, samed't; 
and Sunday is (See page 48.) 

Official French time, as is official U. S. Army time, 
is reckoned by the European clock, which counts the 
hours after noon as 13, 14, 15, and so on, making mid¬ 
night 24 o’clock. 

In ordinary time expressions, however, the hours are 
the same as the American, and the 2400 system is used 
only in official notices and certain announcements as 
theatre advertisements. 

In New Caledonia, when you wake up, it is still 
yesterday in the United States. At 8 a. m. on Monday in 
New Caledonia, it will be 4 p. m. (Standard Time) Sun¬ 
day in New York and i p. m. Sunday in San Francisco. 
The time is 16 hours ahead of the eastern seaboard 
(Standard Time) and 19 hours ahead of the Pacific Coast. 


39 


Weights and Measures. In New Caledonia, the French 
metric system is used in reckoning distances and other 
measures. This is as follows: 

Lengths 

I kilometcr=about six-tenths miles. 

I meter=about 39 inches. 

I centimeter=about four-tenths of an inch. 

I millimetcr=about a twenty-fifth of an inch. 

Weights 

1 metric ton = 2204.62 pounds. 

! quintal=220.46 pounds. 

I kilogramme, or kilo=two and a fifth pounds (2.2046 pounds.) 

I gramme=i5.432 grains, or 0.0353 ounces. 

Capacity 

I hectoliter—100 liters=2.838 U. S. bushels, or 
26.418 U. S. gallons. 

I liter—61.025 cubic inches= 1.0567 liquid quarts. 

Area 

I hectare—10,000 square meters=2.471 acres. 

I square'kilometer=o.386i square mile. 



40 


LANGUAGE GUIDE 


THERE is nothing very difficult about French except 
that, as in English, many words are not pronounced as 
they are spelled. Therefore, the instructions and vocabu¬ 
lary below are not based on the written French language, 
but are a simplified system of representing the language 
as it sounds. This system contains letters for all the 
sounds you must make to be understood. It does not 
contain letters for some of the sounds you will hear, but 
it will give you enough to get by on, both listening and 
speaking. 

So that you may be able to read the familiar words 
you will see, the French spelling of each word and phrase 
is given in parentheses. 


Here Are a Few Simple Rules To Help You 

]. AcCSntS. You know what the accented syllable of a 
word is, of course. It is the syllable which is spoken 
louder than the other syllables in the same word. We 


41 


vvilLshow the accented (loud) syllables in capital letters 
and unaccented syllables in small letters. French is not as 
consistent as English is about accenting the same syllable 
in the same word in every sentence. However, you will 
help yourself get the “feel” of French if you speak the 
part of the word louder'which we write here in capital 
letters. 

2. Vowels. These are the kinds of sounds we represent 
in English by a, e, i, o, u, ah, ay, etc. Just follow the key 
below and you will have no trouble. 

AH or ah equals the a in father. Example: la GAHR (la garc) 
meaning “railroad station." 

A or a equals a sound between the a of fat and the a ot 
father. Listen carefully for it on the record. 
Example: ma-DAM (madame) meaning 
“madam.” 

AW or aw equals the aw in law, but not so drawled. Example: 
PAWR (pore) meaning “pork.” 

AY or ay equals the ay in day, but not so drawled. Example: 
LAY (lait) meaning “milk.” 

EE or ee equals the ee in feet. Example: deez-WEET (dix- 
huit) meaning “eighteen.” 

EH or eh equals the e in get. Example: SEHL (sel) meaning 
“salt.” 


42 


EU or eu is like the i in bird said with the lips rounded as 
though about to say the oo in boo. Example: 
/ layz EU (les oeufs) meaning “eggs,” 

OH or ,oh equals the o in go, but not so drawled. Example: 
LOH (I’eau) meaning “water.” 

00 _or oo equals the oo in boot. Example: OO (oil) meaning 
“where.” 

U or u equals the i in machine said with the lips rounded as 
though about to say the oo in boo. Example: 
eh^-SKU-zay MWAH (excusez*moi) meaning 
“excuse me.” 

UH or uh equals the u in but. Example: ka-RUHT (carottes) 
meaning “carrots.” 

3. The nose' sounds. Four of the vowels above are also pro¬ 
nounced through the nose. This is indicated by a wavy 
line over the' vowel to be “nasalized” (pronounced 
through the nose), like this (To hear what this nasal 
pionunciation sounds like, hold your nose and say the 
syllable ma (with a equalling the a in cat). You have just 
said the French word for hand. Now hold your nose 
again and say maw. You have just said the French word 
for my. These words would be written MA (main) and 
MAW (mon). The same “through the nose” pronuncia¬ 
tion is given to the vowels written AH and UH. (Ex¬ 
ample: kaw-MAH (comment) meaning “how” and UH 


43 


(un) meaning “one.” REMEMBER, EVERY TIME A 
WAVY LINE IS OVER A VOWEL IT MUST BE 
PRONOUNCED THROUGH THE NOSE. 

4. Consonants. The consonants are all the sounds that are 
not vowels. Pronounce them just as you know them in 
English. The only strange combination of letters you 
must note is the zh —which equals the sound written s 
in the middle of the English word pleasure. 

LIST OF MOST USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES 

HERE is a list of the most useful words and phrases you 
will need in French. You should learn these by heart. 
They are the words and phrases included on the French 
language records, and appear here in the order they 
occur on the records. 


Greetings and General Phrases 

[English —Simplified French Spelling] 


Good^orning or Good day— 
BAW ZHOOR {^n jour) 
Good evening—B/fW' SWAHR 
{bon soir) ^ 

How are you ?— kaw-MAH 
TA-lay VOO {comment allez- 
vous) 

Sir— muhs-YEU {monsieur) 


Madam— ma-DAM {madume) 

Miss— mad-mwah-ZEHL {ma¬ 
demoiselle). 

Please —seel voo PLAY {s’il 
vous plait) 

Thank you —MEH R-SEE 
{merci) 


44 


Excuse me— eht^SKU-zay 

MWAH {excttsez-moi) 

Yes— {oui) 

No— {non) 

Do you understand ?— }{aw- 

PRUH-nay VOO {compre- 
nez~vous) 


I don’t understand —zhuh nuh 
K AW-PR AH pah (/> ne 
comprends pas) 

Speak slowly, please— PAR-lay 
LAH-t-rnah, seel voo PLAY 
(par/ez lentement, s’il vous 
plait) 


Location 


Where is —00 AY (o« est) 
the restaurant —luh rehs-toh- 
RAH (le restaurant) 
Where is the restauran^—00 
AY luh rehs-toh-RAH {ou 
est le restaurant) 
the hotel — I a w - T E H L 
(I’hotel) 

Where is the hotel?—00 AY 
law-TEHL (ou est Vhotel) 


Where is the railroad station— 
00 AY la GAHR (ou est 
la gare) 

the toilet —la twah-LEHT 
{la toilette) 

Where is the toilet?—00 AY 
la twah-LEHT {ou est la 
toilette) 


Directions 


To the right—a DRWAHT {a 
droite) 

To the left— GOHSH {a 
gauche) 

Straight ahead —too DRW AH 
{tout droit) 


Show me, please— MAW-tray 
MWAH, seel voo PLAY 
{montrez-moi, s’il vous plait.) 


45 


(If you are ^driving and ask the distance to another town, it 
will be given you'in kilometers, not miles.) 

Kilometer— KEE-loh-MEHTR (i^ilometre) 

One kilometer equals Ya of a mile. 

Numbart 


[You need to know the numbers] 


One—UH (un) ^ 

Two—DEU (deux) 

Three—TRW AH (trots) 

Four —KATR (quatte) 
¥xse—SAK (cinq) 

Six—SEES (six) 

Seven —SENT (sept) 

Eight—IFEET (huit) 

Nine—NUHE (neuf) 

Ten—DEES (dix) 

Eleven—AWZ (onze) \ 

Twelve —DOOZ (douze) 

(For “twenty-one,” “thirty-one,' 


Thirteen —TREHZ (treize) 

Fourteen — /(a-TAWRZ (qua- 
torze)’ 

Fifteen —KAZ (quinze) 

Sixteen —SEHZ (seize) 

Seventeen — dee - SEHT (dix- 
sept) 

Eighteen — deez-WEET (dix- 
huit) 

Nineteen — deez-NUHF (dix- 
neuf. 

Twenty —VA (vingt) 


and so on, you say “twenty and 
one,” and “thirty and one,” but for “twenty-two,” “twenty-three” 
and so on, you just add the words for “two” and “three” after the 
words for “twenty” and “thirty” as we do in English.) 


Twenty-one— VA-tay UH (vingt 
et un) 

Twenty-two —VA DEU (vingt- 
deux) 


Thiny—TRAHJ (trente) 
Forty— kja-RAHT (quarante) 
Fifty— sd-KAHT (cinquante) 
Sixty— swa-SAHT (soixante) 


46 


(“Seventy,” “eighty,” “ninety” are said “sixty ten,” “four 
twenties,” and “four ‘ twenties ten.”) 


Seventy—su/a-^ah DEES {soi- 
xante dix) 

Eighty-— ka-treh-V X {quatre- 
vingt) 


Ninety — kfi - treh - va - DEES 
( quatre-vingt-dix ) 

One hundred— sXfJ {cent) 

One thousand —MEEL {mille) 


Designation 


What’s this — f^ehs l{uh SAY 
{qu’est-ce que e’est) 

What’s that — f^ehs l(uh SAY 
kuh SA {qu’est-cc que e’est 
que (a) 

I want —zhuh voo-DRAY {je 
voudrai) 

some cigarettes —day see-ga- 
REHT {des cigarettes) 


I want cigarettes —zhuh voo- 
DRAY day see-ga-REHT {je 
voudrai des cigarettes) 
to eat— maJi-ZHAY {manger) 
I want to eat —zhuh voo-DRAY 
moK-ZHAY {je voudrai man¬ 
ger.) 


Food 


Bread —PA {pain) 

Butter —BEUR {beurre) 

Soup —SOOP {soupe) 

'Meat— vee-ATiD {viande) 

Eggs— layz-EU {les oeufs) 
Vegetables—lay-GUM {legumes) 
P o t a t o e s— puhm-duh-TEHR 
’’ {pomme de terre) 

String bean s— a-ree-KOH 
VEHR {haricots verts) 


Cabbage —SHOO {choux) 
Cauliflower —s hoo-FLEUR 
{chouxfleur) 

Carrots— l^a-RUHT (carottes) 
Peas— puh-TEE PWAH {petits 
pois) 

Salad— sa-LAD {salade) 

Sugar —SUKR {sucre) 
Salt—SEHL {sel) 

Pepper—PWAHVR {poivre) 


47 


Lamb— moo-TAJ'V ijnouton) 
Veal —VOH {yeau) 

Pork—PAWR (pore) 
Bcct—BUHF .(boeuf) 

Milk—L^Y (lait) 

Drinking water —LOH puh- 
TABL (I’eau potable) 

A cup of tea —un TAHS duh 
TAY (une tasse de the) 


A cup of coffee —un TAHS duh 
hjx-FAY (une tasse de cafe) 
A glass of beer —un VEHR duh 
bee-YEHR (un verve de bihre) 
A.bottle of wine —un bbo-TAY 
duh VA (une bouteille de 
vin) 

Some matches —day z a-lu- 
MEHT (des alumettes) 


To find out how‘much thingo cost you say: 
How much— h^atv-bee-A (combien) 


(The answer will be given in francs, sous and centimes. Four 
centimes equal one sous, twenty sous or one hundred centimes 
equal one franc.) 

Centime— s^-TEEM (centime) Franc —FRAH (franc) 

Sous —SOO (sous) 


Time 


What time is \l}—KEHL EUR 
ay-TEEL (quelle heure est- 
il?) 

Two o’clock —eel ay DEUZ 
EUR (il est deux heures) 

Ten past two —DEUZ eur 
DEES (deux heures dix) 
Quarter past five —SAK eur 
KAR (cinq heures un quart) 


Half past six —SEES eur ay 
duh-MEE (six heures et 
demie) 

Quarter of eight —WEET eur 
MWA luh KAR (huit heures 
moins le quart) 

Three minutes to nine —NUHV 
eur MWA TRWAH (neuf 
heures moins trois) 


At what hour —a KEHL EUR 
quelle heure) 

begins — kjth-MAiiS {com¬ 
mence) 

movie —luh see-nay-MA {le 
cinema) 

What time does the movie 
start?—fl KEHL EUR huh- 


MAHS luh se-nay-MA (a 
quelle heure commence le 
cinema) 

Yesterday— ee-YEHR {hier) 

Today— oh-zhoord-WEE {au- 

jourd’hui) 

Tomorrow— duh-MA {demain) 


Days of the Week 


Sunday— dee - MAPlSH (di - 

manche) 

Monday— LUH-dee {lundi) 
Tuesday— MAHR-dee {mardi) 

Wednesday — MEHR-hruh-dee 
{Mercredi) 


Thursday— {Jeudi) 
Friday— VAH-druh-dee {Ven- 
dredi) 

Saturday— SAM-dee (Samedi) 


Useful Phrases 


What is your name?— h^- 
MAH vooz A-puh-lay VOO 
{Comment vous appelez-vous) 

My name is- juh ma- 

PEHL - {je m’appelle 


How do you say table in 
French?— DEET- 
voo {table) a fraJf-SAY {Com¬ 
ment dites-vous {table) en 
Frangais) 

Goodbye — oh ruh - VWAHR 
{au revoir) 






ADDITIONAL WORDS AND PHRASES 


[ English —French ] 

Surroundings—Natural Objects 


bank (of river)— hth ree-VAZH 
{le r in age) 

darkness — law b-skti-ree-TAY 
{I’obscurite) 

light— la lum-YEHR {la lu- 
miere) 

desert— luh-deh-ZEHR {le de¬ 
sert) 

field— luh SHAH {le champ) 
fire— luh FEU {le feu) 
forest— la faw-RAY {la forH) 
grass— LEHRB {I’herbe) 
the ground— luh tuh-RX {le 
terrain) 

ravine —luh ra-VX {le ravin) 
hill— la l{aw-LEEN {la colline) 
ice— la GLAS {la glace) 
jungle— la BROOS {la brousse) 
lake— LAK {le laque) 
the moon— la LUN {la lune) 
moun^in — la mdw-T ANyuh 
{la montagne) ^ 

the ocean — law - say - AH 
{V ocean) 

rain— la plu-EE {la pluie) 


snow —la NEHZH {la neige) 
spring —la SOORS {la source) 
water hole —////j pwO-DOH {le 
point d’eau) 

the stars —layz ay-TWAHL {les 
etoiles) 

the river —la reev-YEHR {la 
riviere) 

stream —luh rti-ee-SOH {le 
ruisseau) 

the sun —luh soJ^-LAY {le soldi) 
wind —luh VAH {le vent) 
day —luh ZHOOR {le jour) 
day after tomorrow— a-PREH 
duh-MA {apres demain) 
day before yesterday— a-VAHT- 
YEHR {avant-hier) 
evening —luh SWAHR {le soir) 
month —luh MWAH {le mois) 
night —la NWEE {la nuit) 
week — la suh-MEHN {la se- 
maine) 

year— la-NAY^{l’annd) 

January— -zhah-vee-AY {janvier) 
February— fay-vree-AY {fevrier) 


50 


March— MAHRS {mars) 

April— a-VREEL {airil) 
Uzy—MAY {mai) 

June— zhoo-A {juin) 

July— zhwee-YAY {juillet) 
August —00 or OOT (aotU) 
September— sehp-TAHBR {sep- 
tembre) 


October— aw}{-T AWBR {Octo- 
bre) 

November — noh-VAPlBR {no 
vembre) , 

December — day-SAHBR {de 
cembre) 


Relationships 


boy —lub gar-SAW {le gar(on) 
brother—//^ FREHR {le frere) 
c\{x\d—LAH-FAH {I’enjant) 
daughter —la FEE {la fille) 
family— la fa-MEE {la famille) 
father —luh PEHR {le pere) 
husband —luh ma-REE {le mart) 


girl—/a ZHEUN FEE {jeune ' 

filU) 

man —LAWM {I’homme) 
mother —la MEHR {la mere) 
sister —la SEUR {la soeur) 
son —luh FEES {le fils) 
woman or wife —la FAM {la 
femme) 


Human Body 


arms —lay BRAH {les bras) 
body—luh KAWR {le corps) 
back— DOH {le dos) 
ear— law-RAY {Voreille) 
ears —layz aw-RAY {les oreilles) 
cye—LEhJee {I’oeil) 
eyes —layz YEU {les yeux) 
bngcT—luh DWAH {le doigt) 
iool-^luh pee-AY {le pied) 
hair —lay shuh^VEU {les che- 
veux) 


hand —la MA {la main) 
head—/a TEH7 {la fete) 
leg —la JAHB {la jambe) 
mouth —la BOOSH {la bouche) 
neck —luh KOO {le cou) 
nose —luh NAY {le nez) 
teeth —lay DAH {les dents) 
toe —luh DWAHD pee-AY {le 
doigt du pied) 


51 


House and Furniture 


bed—///A LEE (le lit) 
blanket —la ^oo-vehr-TUR (la 
couvcrtt4re) 

chair —la SHEHZ (la chaise) 
door —la PAWRT (la porte) 
house —la may-ZAW (la mai- 
son) 

kitchen —la l^wee-ZEEN (la 
cuisine) 

mosquito net —la moos-tee- 

KAYR (la moustiquaire) 


room —la SHATJBR (la charn- 
bre) 

stairs— lay-sl{al-YAY (I’escalier) 
stove (cooking place) — luh 
PWAHL (le poele) 
table —TABL (la table) 
toilet (or sanitary facilities)—• 
luh la-ua-BOH (le lavabo) or 
la la-TREEN (la latrine) 
wall —luh MUR (le mur) 
window —la fuh-NEHTR (la 
jenetre) 


Food and Drink—Tobacco 


cucumbers —luh ^ow-KAWBR 
(le concombre) 

fish —luh pwah-SAW (le pois- 
son) 

food —la noo-ree-TUR (la nour- 
riture) 

fruit— luh froo-EE (le fruit) 
grapes —luh ray-ZA (le raisin) 
lemon —luh see-TRAW (le ci¬ 
tron) 

m e 1 o n —luh meh-LAW (le 
melon) 

watermelon —la pahs-TEHK (la 
pasteque) 


orange — law-RAHZH 
(Porange) 

orange juice—Z HU d a w - 
RAPiZH (jus d’orange) 
pipe —la PEEP (la pipe) 
radishes —luh ra-DEE (le radis) 
rice —luh REE (le riz) 
iieak—le bif-TEHK (biftec) 
tobacco —luh ta-BAK (le tabac) 
tomatoes —luh toh-MAHT (la 
tomate) 

turnip —luh na-VAY (le navet) 


52 


f 


Surroundings 


bridge —iuh PAW (le pont) 
church— lay-GLEEZ (I’eglise) 
town or city —la VEEL (la ville) 
market —luh mar-SHAY (le 
marc he) 

path (trail, pass) —luh s^t-YAY 
(le sender) 

post office —luh bu-ROH duh 
PAW ST (le bureau de poste) 


p<)lice post—/«A pawst duh puh- 
LEES (le poste de police) 
road —la ROOT (la route) 
shop (store) —la boo-TEEK (la 
boutique) or Itth ma-ga-ZA 
(le magasin) 
street —la RU (la rue) 
village —luh veel-AZH (le vil¬ 
lage) 

well —luh PWEE (le puits) 


Animals 


animal— la-nee-MAL (Tanimal) 
bird— Iwa-ZOH (I’oiseau) 
camel —luh sha-MOH (le cha- 
mean) 

cat —luh SHA (le chat) 
chicken (hen) —luh poo-LAY 
(le poulet) 

cow —la VASH (la vache) 
dog —luh SHA (le chien) 
donkey —LAN (Vane) 
duck —luh l{a-NAR (le canard) 
burrow —luh boo-ree-KOH (le 
bouriquot) 

g6at —la SHEHVR (la chevre) 


horse —luh shuh-VAL (le che- 
val) 

mouse —luh soo-REE (le souris) 
mule —luh moo-LAY (le mulet) 
pig — luh f{oh-SHAW (le co¬ 
chon) 

rabbit —luh la-PA (le lapin) 
rat —luh RA lie rat) 
sheep —la bray-BEE (la brebis) 
snake —luh sehr-PAH (ie ser¬ 
pent) 

scorpion — luh skawr-pee-AW 
(le scorpion) 


Insocts 


flies —lay MOOSH (les mouches) mosquitoes — lay . moos - TEEK 

fleas—/fly POOS (les^ puces) (les moustiques) 


53 




lice —lay PQO {les poux) bedbugs — lay pu-NEHZ (les 

spider — la-rehn-YAY (J’araig- punaises) 
nee) 

Tracies and Occupations . 


baker —luh boo-law-ZHAY (le 
boul anger) 

barber — luh k.wah - FEUR (le 
coiffeur) 

blacksmith — luh fawr - zhuh- 
RAW (le jorgeron) 
butcher — luh boo - SHAY (le 
boucher) 

cook —luh l{wee-zeen-YAY (le 
cut sinter) 


doctor —luh dawl{-TEUR ^ (le 
docteur) or luh mayd-SA (le 
medecin) 

farmer —luh fehr-mee-YAH (le 
fermier) 

mechanic —luh may-kje-nees-Y A 
(le mecanicien) 

shoemaker — luh kawr - duhn- 
YAY (le cordonnter) 
tailor —luh ta-YEUR (le iail- 
leur 


Numbers 


first— pruhm-YAY (premier) 
second— seh-KAWD (second) 
third — trwahz - YEHM (troisi- 
eme) 

fourth — kat-ree-YEHM (qua- 
trieme) 

fifth — sul{-ee-YEHM (cinqui- 
eme 

sixth— seez-YEHM (sixieme) 


belt —la sd-TUR (la cincture) 
boots —lay BUHT (les bottes) 


seventh— seht-YEHM (septieme) 
eighth--weet-YEHM (huitieme) 
ninth— neuv-YEHM (netwieme) 
tenth— deez-YEHM (dixieme) 
eleventh — awz-YEHM (onzi- 
eme) 

twelfth — dooz-YEHM (douzi- 
eme) 


coat —luh pard-SU (le pardes- 
sus) 


Clothing 


54 



gloves —lay GAT! {les gants) 
hat —hth sha-POH (le chapeau) 
necktie —la l^ra-VAT (la cra¬ 
vat e) 

shirt —la shtih-MEEZ (la che¬ 
mise) 

shoes —lay shaw-SVR (les chaus- 
s tires) 


socks — lay shaw-SEHT (les 
chaussettes) 

sweater— pul-aw-VEHR (le 
pullover) 

trousers— le paK-ta-LAW (le 
pan talon) 

undershirt —luh tree-KOH (le 
tricot) 


Adjectives 


good— BAiy (bon) 
bad— maw^AY (mauvais) 
big —GRAH (grand) 
small— puh-TEE (petit) 
sick— ma-LAD (malade) 
well— bee-YA pawr-TAtl (bien 
portant) 

I am hungry— ZHAY FA (j’ai 
faim) 

I am thirsty— SWAHF 
(j’ai soif) 

hhck—NW£HR (noir) 
while—BLAHK (blanc) > 
red —ROOZH (rouge) 
h\ne—BLEU (bleu) 
green —VEHR (Pert) 
yellow— (jaune) 
high —OH (haut) 
low —BAH (bas) , 
deep— proh-FAW (prof^nd) 
shallow— pah proh-FAW (pas 
projond) 


eo\d—FRAW (frotd) 
hot —SHOH (chaUx) 
wet— mou-YAY (mouille) 
dry—SEHK (sec) 

’ expensive —SHEHR (cher) 
cheap —bow mar-SHAY (bon 
marche) 

empty —VEED (vide) 
i\x\\—PLAJ^j)lem) 
long —LAW (long) 
short —KOOR (court) 
ready— (pret) '' 
clean —PRUHPR (propre) 
dirty —SAL (sale) 
old— vee-YEU (vieux) 
new— noo-VOH (nouveau) 
young —ZHEUN (jetine) 
other —OHTR (autre) 
happy, contented— KAW-TAH 
(content) 



55 


Pronouns, etc. 


\—ZHUH (je) 
we— NOO {nous) 
you— VOO {vous) 
hi^EEL (il) 
she—EHL (elle) 
they—EEL (Us) 
this— S U H (ce) masculine 
SENT (cette) jeminine 
these— SAY (ces) 
that— SVH (ce) masculine. 
SEHT (cette) jeminine 
or more definite— SVH . . . 
LA (ce . . . la) masculine. 
SEHT ... LA (cette . . . 
la) jeminine 

those —SAY (ces). More defi¬ 
nite, SAY . . . LA (ces . . .la) 
rny, mine— MAW (mon) 
our, ours— NOH (nos) 


for —POOR (pour) 
irom—DUH (de) 
in —DAH (dans)- 
ot—DUH (de) 


his, hers —SEH (se) masculine; 

SA (sa) jeminine 
your, yours —VOH (vos) 
their, theirs —LEUR (leur) 
who —KEE (qui) 
what —KUH (que) 
how many— kjdW-bee-A (com- 
bien) 

how hr-KEHL dee-STAPs 
(quelle distance) 

somebody — l{ehl-KUH (quel- 
qu’un) 

anyone — f{ehl-KAWK (quel-, 
conque) 

everybody —too luh MAWD 
(tout le monde) 

something— kehl-k, u h - SHOHZ 
(quelque chose) 


on —SVR (sur) 
to —A (a) 

with— a-VEHK (avec) 


Prepositions 


Adverbs 

above —oh deh-SV (au dessus) beside —a kph-TAY (a cote) 

again— ah-KAWR (encore) ^ below —oh deh-SOO (au des 

behind— dehr-YEHR (derriere) sous) 


56 


enough— a-SAY {assez) 

far— IwCi-TAli (lointaln) 

here— ee-SEE {id) 

in front —^ FAS (en face) 

less —MW A {moins) 

more —PLIJ (plus) 

much— boh-KOO (heaucoup) 


near— vwah-ZA (voisin) 
on that side —duh stth kph-TAY 
la (de ce cote la) 
on this side —duh suh l{oh-TAY 
see (de ce cote ci) 
there —la (la) 
very —TREH (tres) 


Conjunctions 

and —AY (et) or —00 (ou) 

but —MAY (mats) tliat —KUH (que) 

xi—SEE (si) 

Points of tho Compass 

north— (nord) east— (est) 

south —SUD (sud) west —WEHST (ones/) 

Phrases for Every Day 


What date is today? —KEHL 
ZHOOR ay-TEEL (Quel jour 
est-il?) 

■ The fifth of June, etc. —luh 
SAK zhoo-A (le cinq juin) 
What day of the week? —KEHL 
ZHOOR duh la suh-MEHN? 
(Quel jour de la semaine?) 
Tuesday, etc.— MAHR-dee (mai ’ 
di) 


Come here— vuh-NAYZ ee-SEE 
( Venez-ici) 

Come quickly— vuh-NAY VEET 
(Venez vite) 

Go quickly-^-L.4Y VEET (Al- 
lez vite) 

Who are you? —KEE eht VOO 
Qui etes-vous? 

What do you want? —KUH voo- 
LAY VOO (Que voulez- 
vous?) 


57 


Where is the nearest town?— 
00 AY la VEEL la PLU 
PRUHSH {Ou est la ville la 
plus proche?) 

Be careful!—f£HT a-tds-YAW 
(Faites at ten f ion!) 

Where can I sleep? — 00 
PWEEZH datvr-MEER {Ott 
ptiis-ie dormir?) 

Wait a minute! —IJH mo/j-MAU 
{Un moment!) 

I haven’t any money— 7HUH 
NAY PAH dar-ZHAH (/e 
n’ai pas d’argent) 

Give me some drinking water— 
duh-NAY MWAH duh LOH 
a BWAHR {Donnez-moi de 
I'eat I a boire) 

Give me some food— duh-NAY 
MWAH kehl-kuh-SHOHZ a 
mah-ZHAY {Donnez -mot 

qttelque chose a manger) 


How far is the nearest s^ing?— 
KEHL dee-STAHS suh 
TROOV la SOORS la pl'u 
PRUHSH (A quelle distance 
se trouve la source la plus 
proche) 

What , is the name of this 
pUcc^-K^-MAH sa-PEHL 
seht ^i-DRWAH {Comment 
s’appelle cet endroit?) 

1 .have- cigarettes —ZHAY day 
see-ga-REHT {J'ai des ci¬ 
garettes) 

I am sick—ZHUH SWEE ma- 
LAD {Je siiis malade) 

I am an American soldier— 
ZHUH SWEEZ ^ sohl-DA 
a-may-ree-KA {Je suis un 
soldat Americain) 

I am your friend—ZHt/H SWEE 
VUHTRE a-MEE {je suis 
votre ami)y 


SPECIAL NOTES ON NEW CALEDONIA 

I English— French] 

' Surroundings—Natural Objects 

The usual word for stream is “creek” and is —luh KREEK 
borrowed from the English {le creek) 


58 


Relationships 


boy— luh-gar-SAW (Je gar^on) 
In New Caledonia generally a 
worker, a native stevedore, a 
coolie, 
woman 

In New Caledonia a native 
(Melanesian) woman is— la 
poh-pee-NAY {la popinee) 


A Javanese woman, generally 
a servant, is— la bah-YOO 
{la bayou) 

A Tonkinese woman, gener¬ 
ally a servant, is— la k.aw- 
GAHee {la congai) 


Food and Drink • (Note Especially) 


cocoanut— la NWAH duh kph- 
KOH {la noix de coco) 
bananas— la ba-NAN {la ba- 
nane) 

guava— la gawee-AV {la goyave) 
pineapple— la-ua-NAH {I’ana- 

nas) 


arrow-roots or yams— leen-YAM 
{I’igname) 

native lobsters— la laJt-GOOST 
{la langouste) 

oysters— la HWEETR {la huitrc) 


Surroundings 


In New Caledonia there are no 
passenger railroads but a pas¬ 
senger bus service known as— 
law-toh-BUS {I’autobus) 

Pay particular attention to signs 
warning you of any approach¬ 
ing— rad-YAY {le rad'ter) 

This is a sunken concrete jetty 
serving as a bridge across 


streams, and can break even 
the springs of a jeep, unless 
traveled over slowly. 

Cable Ferry— luh BAK {le bac) 

Shop, store in New Caledonia 
generally— luh STAWR {le 
store) 

ranch— luh stas-YAW {le sta¬ 
tion) borrowed from Australia 


59 










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